


Boys and Soldiers, or Turtleducks Tales

by Maryqua



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Boys Kissing, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, Past Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Self-Esteem Issues, Turtleduck Date Night, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26650606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maryqua/pseuds/Maryqua
Summary: Zuko is having a hard time dealing with his new responsibilities as Firelord, his views and changes being constantly a reason for arguments with the older generation. Having to balance loneliness, self-doubt and great expectations from the four nations, can he manage to do a great job, while also being respectful?Tune in to see if either he, or Sokka, his trusted Kyoshi Warrior in charge, punch the homophobe first!
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 114





	Boys and Soldiers, or Turtleducks Tales

Zuko sighed, rubbing his temples. Being the Firelord didn’t always come easy for him, since he had to handle some especially delicate matters regarding peace- his father’s old councilmen weren’t exactly helpful either. Fortunately, Iroh did his best to help his nephew, but even he seemed to have become tired of dealing with the aftermath of his brother’s reign.

In time, Zuko had learned to control his temper, but even now, on some occasions, he would feel like lashing out, mainly because of stress, due to the pressure of the other nations; expectations and demands.

His only outlet for venting was the turtleduck pond in the palace garden, where his friends would often find him feeding, petting, the little animals, and even, on occasion, talk to them about his problems. He would often spend hours there, enjoying their company, but he couldn’t help feeling alone in doing so. Sure, he had his friends, and he and Mai were still on good terms, despite their breakup, but something in his life seemed to be missing.

On a particularly stressful day, one of his father’s old generals came to voice his complaints.

“Prince Zuko- “

“It’s _Firelord_ Zuko, to you”, said Sokka, stepping forward from behind the left side of Zuko’s throne. He would, occasionally, swap shifts with Suki, to ‘cover for her’, but in reality, he just liked spending time with Zuko.

“ _Prince_ Zuko, what’s this? A man in make up? A harlot, by your side? Is this what you want to teach our children? That our nation isn’t the greatest, that they should succumb to this outrage? To feel shame of our ideals of a nation, and think of us as invaders, while we only enlightened these savages? Your _Father, the Firelord_ would have done a much better job at this than you ever will, prince Zuko”, continued the general, unaffected by Sokka’s commentary.

“How could you say his, you ignorant piece of-”, started Sokka.

“ENOUGH”, resonated Zuko’s voice trough the throne room, clearly angry.

“You’ll get your punishment, ladyboy, let’s see how you’ll shake your ass in prison”, smirked the general, satisfied with the development.

“I was talking to you”, growled Zuko, grabbing the general by his collar. “You dare come into my house, show no sign of respect, accuse me of not knowing how to do my job right, even though you haven’t served the Fire Nation in any significant way, and have the audacity to disrespect my trusted and dear friend? I was holding out on sending you to prison, along with the other generals who have betrayed our nation in such a horrific way, by taking military action against innocent people, since you didn’t have much of an input. Now, I’ve changed my mind. Guards, you know what to do.”

Whole being steaming, Zuko watched as the offender was dragged to join his dear Firelord. Sokka had never seen him this way, and tried to lighten up the situation with a joke:

“So... that was a pretty steamy situation, you ok man?”

Zuko answered nothing in response, and instead left hurriedly. Of course, we all knew where he was going. Sokka found him sitting alone, staring at the turtleducks with a sad expression. Before he could open his mouth, his friend said:

“Do you ever look at them, at how carefree they are, no rules to follow, no shoes to fill or change, no expectations of the world resting on their shoulders, and wish that you could be a turtleduck?”

“Well, I don’t really spend as much time with them as you do, but honestly, I wouldn’t choose that. If I were a turtleduck, I wouldn’t have had so many great adventures, grown as a person, or even meet you. I can’t live in a world like that. And I know that secretly you don’t either. Look, what that man said isn’t true. You are the greatest Firelord I have met, which isn’t really saying much, ‘cause I’ve only met your dad and he’s not the best example, but, look. What I’m trying to say is that you have done so much for these people and have made their lives so much better while being Firelord, and it’s only been such a short while, you have a whole reign ahead of you.”

“Well, a lot of people don’t seem to agree with you, like that general, for example. They think that I’m ruining the Fire Nation, that I’m destroying the values of my ancestors, but I’m only trying to do what’s right? Why can’t they understand?”, sighed the young, angsty, teenager, in frustration.

“Zuko, you are the reason I can believe in a new day. You are my hope for the reconstruction of my homeland, the one who made peace possible, and who can guarantee me that I can rest knowing that the next day will not bring another war in my way. I have faith in you, and besides, you are not alone! We may not be world-class diplomats, but we have dealt with some pretty tough people before. You can count on us, on your friends, to be there to help you when you have troubles. Aang, Katara, Toph, Suki, Mei, Ty Lee, maybe Azula too, in time, when she can heal, and of course, me!”

“But what if I’m not enough? What if-”

“Shut up. You are perfect”, whispered Sokka, both hands cupping Zuko’s face, while leaning in. “Is this ok?”, he asked, inches away from the other boy’s lips.

“It’s perfect”, the Firelord replied, closing his eyes and meeting him in the middle.

When he felt the Watertribe boy’s lips touching his own, Zuko finally realized what he’d lacked all this time- a response to the unanswered questions swirling inside his heart, and all started to make sense for him at once, the two fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle.

As they pulled apart, out of breath, Sokka opened his eyes to see the other teenager looking at him with a lovestruck grin on his face. He couldn’t contain his laughter, and he exclaimed:

“God, you look like a dork, so adorable.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me”, he replied with a suggestive smirk.

And so, he did, relaxing for the whole afternoon in the presence of his dear Sokka, who he now gets to call his boyfriend, while splashing and laughing together, feeding the turtleducks, and sneaking the occasional peck.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this! If you enjoyed it, be sure to leave a Kudos or a comment, they would be greatly appreciated, especially since this is my first official fic!


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